I belonged to Associated Consultants International (ACI) for thirty-five of the organization’s 40 years. ACI was created to help consultants continue to learn, share knowledge, improve skills and excel at practices. The processes we developed shaped me, and my consulting practice. Deep friendships were formed that still sustain me. We continue to gather online periodically to keep up with the front-line work we are engaged in doing now: writing books, working with initiatives to save the planet, and the values we embody.
I believe the need for these processes is greater now than we could have imagined when we built them. Over the years probably up to fifty people participated in the core group.
How To Gifts for You
What we learned we are giving to you to use, either directly or as a model as you develop your own. The information is prepared for you to download, to send to others, to add to your website, to encourage customers to add to their personal growth and support portfolio. We who were ACI give it to you freely; take these seeds and grow your own ways.
There is some information about how we went about being ACI, including our Diversity and Ethics Statements and how to function as a non-hierarchical organization (Distributed Leadership).
ACI was never about judgment: it was about support. The main processes that fostered personal and professional growth were:
How to do Peer Consultation – Present an issue and listen to Free Advice given with no expectations.
How to do Peer Review – Five practice areas to choose from, share what you know, and have peers listen, care, share their thoughts about you and your work, and repeat that every four years.
Finally, we want to encourage you to find companions for the road, be part of or create organizations that want each person to excel at who they are and how they do their work. Support each other, be of service, help your clients find healthy ways to be in the world. You are not alone.
Click here or tap the button to explore the ACI Processes and Practices to Use online.
This is fantastic reminder of what I experienced as support for myself as an early career professional. It shaped my confidence and learning that’s with me today.
After 25 years as an independent consultant, our ACI leadership principles and peer review standards stand the test of time. Thank you for posting this. Your blog is beautiful!
I have participated in Peer Consulting both in asking others to help me when I needed clarity on what process would work with a client organization, and as a listener who provided potential solutions to others. This process shaped my growth as a consultant. ACI was a wonderful organization that I participated in for over 25 years until we shut it down. Lola and I worked together on many different projects together through our years, and is one of our top consultants today. She works at a deep level with clients and does not waste time on the surface level with resistant clients – as we all learned to do throughout our ACI organization. I highly praise the ACI organization and deeply thank Lola for her dedication and work to keeping this process alive and out in the world for anyone to use.